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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27100579">unseen tenderness</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaMills/pseuds/JaMills'>JaMills</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SPY x FAMILY (Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dead People, F/M, Fluff, Forger Spookfest, Gen, Ghost Yor, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Medium Anya, Religious Imagery &amp; Symbolism, This was supposed to be a oneshot but I'm a mess</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-09 04:26:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,564</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27100579</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaMills/pseuds/JaMills</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Twilight has always been secretly afraid of things he couldn't see or explain. He needed to understand things, know their strong and weak points, be able to defeat them if that was the case.</p><p>But then, how could he explain his growing fondness for the paranormal activity in his apartment?</p><p> </p><p>( In which Anya can see dead people, Yor is a ghost and Twilight is just too tired to be properly scared. )</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anya Forger &amp; Loid Forger | Twilight &amp; Yor Briar Forger | Thorn Princess, Loid Forger | Twilight/Yor Briar Forger | Thorn Princess</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Forger Spookfest</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>unseen tenderness</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This will be a multichap with short chapters because I'm lazy and afraid of not finishing it by the end of the month.<br/>Hope you enjoy it anyway!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Twilight knew Anya was different from the other kids the moment they met. He just didn't know what made her special, yet.</p><p><br/>
She was quiet on the beginning, securely clutching to his hand as she looked attentively at the streets they passed by. Sometimes she stared at seemingly meaningless things and other times, she would stare at actually nothing. Twilight thought that was just her getting used to her surroundings. Anya didn't seem to go out a lot when living on the orphanage.</p><p> </p><p>The girl slowly opened up to him and he was glad that it was in time for them to prepare themselves for the Eden Academy's exam. Anya wasn't smart in the sense she could pass the test without external help, so they at least had to memorize things so she could write down the correct answers on the big day. She could do that. He was sure of it.</p><p> </p><p>Twilight, now Loid Forger, was quite the mysterious man, as it was part of his job. But he had to admit that, sometimes, his adopted daughter could be even more intriguing than himself. </p><p> </p><p>Anya talked alone quite often. No, not alone, but with Mr. Chimera, as she claimed. They always had important business to discuss. Now, Twilight had read a lot of books on children and parenthood and knew the concept of playing pretend with imaginary friends. Anya might be a bit old for that, but it was something normal for kids. He just found it weird that at times, she would play on the park and not exactly speak directly at her plushie, but at a random tree. Well, it seemed he had adopted a very imaginative child.</p><p><br/>
Another odd event was when he found a crucifix pendant when doing her laundry. When Twilight questioned her about it, she panicked that he would send her back and started crying immediately. He managed to calm her with a cup of hot cocoa and the promise of a new toy.</p><p><br/>
"You don't need to hide it if you want." He assured when her face was still tear stained and she just stared at the hot cocoa guiltily. "I'm not the most religious person and I know people in Ostania don't see it with good eyes. But if you believe it, I'll try to help you the best I can."</p><p> </p><p>"I'm fine." The girl said as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her arm. "I don't know much about church things, actually. Someone just gave me this as a gift, a lucky charm. It protects me."</p><p><br/>
It wasn't that absurd of an answer, but it still made the man curious.</p><p><br/>
"What does it protect you from?"</p><p><br/>
"Cockroaches." She lifted her head and answered it as if it was rehearsed. Suddenly, she wasn't so sad anymore. "Cockroaches are yucky."</p><p> </p><p>Twilight only chuckled at that while ruffling the girl's pink hair.</p><p> </p><p>"I'll try my best to protect you from the cockroaches, so no need to be worried."</p><p> </p><p>There was something in her look that made it seem she didn't really believe in his capabilities, but she still smiled openly and jumped to hug him, almost knocking over the cup's contents all over the table.</p><p> </p><p>Yeah, his daughter surely had a lot of secrets, but he would learn how to deal with them.</p><p> </p><p><br/>
- - -</p><p> </p><p>When Anya got accepted in Eden Academy, they moved to their new home. Well, it wasn't exactly <em>new</em>, as the building seemed to date from decades before the war. But it was a spacious and cozy apartment that tended to all their needs, so that was a win.</p><p> </p><p>Twilight still felt... odd, at times. As if he was being observed by an unknown being. He would also randomly feel cold chills on his spine when entering Anya's bedroom, especially. There were woods cracking on the floor. Sometimes he also heard footsteps that were too heavy to belong to a child like Anya.</p><p><br/>
It was freaking creepy.</p><p> </p><p>The man must have checked the place for hidden cameras or bugs for at least five times in the first month, but couldn't find anything. Still, he was a spy and trusted his senses that said something was watching him. It could actually be a trick of his exhausted brain after so many missions. He could use a break on a weekend anytime.</p><p> </p><p>Anya, on the other hand, was thriving on her new home. She felt uncomfortable on the first two nights and refused to sleep on her room (She said there were scary beetles. Twilight couldn't find any, but he still let it go.). But one day she woke up bright as day, saying "Good morning!" to her Papa and all her toys, without a care in the world. She also whispered a quiet "Good morning, Mama" for what Twilight assumed to be the toy robot he got her before they moved in. Uh.</p><p><br/>
At first, the spy thought Anya would feel lonely in her off days with no one to talk with besides her father and dolls. But, to his surprise, she seemed very content in talking with her toys and even doing homework (!) with their aid. They didn't seem to be very helpful with math, though. She also recently developed a strong interest for spies, considering that she watched the daily Bondman cartoons almost religiously. It made Twilight uneasy, to be honest. On top of that, he was still the only one who seemed to notice the misplaced cups and foreign footsteps. He hoped it was really his tired mind playing a trick on him.</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p><br/>
Being a father was a tough job and it didn't make it any easier had to hide a lot of things from Anya. Like weapons, bombs, espionage apparel. Not only it could damage his tools and get in the way of his work, but it could also hurt Anya if she put her hands in any mortal stuff. So that's why he'd keep his things safely secured in his room and made it pretty clear on multiple occasions that Anya shouldn't go there without his permission.</p><p><br/>
Maybe it was too naive of him to expect a six-year-old to sit still and not explore the apartment in her boredom. He wouldn't have acted the way he did if he wasn't so stressed and tired of work, either. He regretted the way he treated Anya that night.</p><p> </p><p>But if he hadn't, he wouldn't have find out about the third person leaving in their home with them.</p><p> </p><p>Twilight was fighting to keep his eyes open as he checked the brand new amount of WISE paperwork disguised as his psychiatric job in the living room. Just then he realized that the whole place was <em>too</em> quiet for an average Friday night, considering Anya already had dinner and wasn't asleep yet. He hadn't demand her to work on homework that day because they still had the whole weekend to deal on it, so she was allowed to play to her heart's content until she went to bed.</p><p> </p><p>So, when he couldn't notice snickers or whispers detailing highly complex missions of rescuing Penguinman from the laundry machine, he knew there was something wrong.</p><p><br/>
The man left his files on the coffee table and headed to the hallway in long strides. With just a glance he saw that Anya's room had its door open but she wasn't anywhere in sight. That left him with his bedroom, which also had its door open.</p><p><br/>
He entered it to find Anya on her tiptoes, circled a horde of plushies, trying to reach something on his wardrobe. He didn't think twice before yanking her by the back collar, earning a quiet "Yip!" as he yelled:</p><p> </p><p>"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"</p><p><br/>
Anya widened her startled eyes as she joined her hands in fear:</p><p><br/>
"Papa...!"</p><p><br/>
"I told you on multiple times you're not supposed to go here without permission!" He still hadn't notice how far he was going. "What do you have to say for yourself?!"</p><p><br/>
Anya couldn't say anything, because soon she started cry her eyes out in scared hiccups as Twilight stared in bewilderment. Did he exaggerate in his scolding? He didn't want to, he was just worried she would hurt herself.</p><p> </p><p>Before he could try to calm the young girl, an unknown force hit strongly against his chest and he found himself pinned against the wall like a rag doll discarded by a spoiled child. He felt the air leave his lungs at the impact and widened his eyes at... well, nothing. There was <em>nothing</em> in the room that could have done this to him. No agent, no mysterious foreign weapon, there was just him three feet above the ground staring at a shocked Anya while the lights flickered, the windows rattled and Twilight feared for his life. Did Anya do that? Did his daughter secretly had telekinetic habilities all this time?!</p><p><br/>
Before Twilight could say anything, he felt pressure against his throat too similar of being strangled. He tried to free his arms, but they were still strongly held on his sides by that unknown. He had enough training to calm down and control his breath, but other than that, he was <em>terrified</em>. Twilight had never felt like that since he was a child.</p><p> </p><p>"<em>You</em>," a rough female voice suddenly filled his ears. "<em>Don't you <strong>dare</strong> talk to my daughter like that ever again.</em>"</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Some useless triva for y'all:<br/>- Since I based Ostania as East Germany under communist influence, publicly professing religions is against the law, so that's why Anya's caretakers were arrested. I didn't envision them as explicity Catholic or Protestant, so you can read it as you wish.<br/>- Anya can't read people's minds here, that would be a bit too OP for her. But later we'll find out how she manages to figure out stuff about Twilight.</p><p> </p><p>See you next time!! ~~</p></blockquote></div></div>
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